Sampras after 96 basically stopped playing in Paris. Of course he has a poor record anyway, but what he did in these years is not really relevant. Some people after a certain age retire, other players focus on some tournaments only.

Pete's clay game took a dive when he hired Annacone.. Had his old coach Gullickson not died, Pete probably would have won a French Open title before it was all said and done. During his clay prime under Gullickson he made deep runs at the French usually going out to the eventual winner. By the late 90s, the clay court depth took a dive, and there would have been major openings for him to win 1-2.

For whatever reason by 1997, Pete gave up on the french.. Could have been the coach. Look at how well he played from 92-96 and how how much his level took a dive from 97-on

Annacone was not the coach to have if you are looking to achieve on clay.. (Look at Fed's clay level since hiring Annacone).. Its took a complete DUMP compared to where it was prior

Pete's clay game took a dive when he hired Annacone.. Had his old coach Gullickson not died, Pete probably would have won a French Open title before it was all said and done. During his clay prime under Gullickson he made deep runs at the French usually going out to the eventual winner. By the late 90s, the clay court depth took a dive, and there would have been major openings for him to win 1-2.

For whatever reason by 1997, Pete gave up on the french.. Could have been the coach. Look at how well he played from 92-96 and how how much his level took a dive from 97-on

Annacone was not the coach to have if you are looking to achieve on clay.. (Look at Fed's clay level since hiring Annacone).. Its took a complete DUMP compared to where it was prior

Pete's clay game took a dive when he hired Annacone.. Had his old coach Gullickson not died, Pete probably would have won a French Open title before it was all said and done. During his clay prime under Gullickson he made deep runs at the French usually going out to the eventual winner. By the late 90s, the clay court depth took a dive, and there would have been major openings for him to win 1-2.

For whatever reason by 1997, Pete gave up on the french.. Could have been the coach. Look at how well he played from 92-96 and how how much his level took a dive from 97-on

Annacone was not the coach to have if you are looking to achieve on clay.. (Look at Fed's clay level since hiring Annacone).. Its took a complete DUMP compared to where it was prior

Oh, I didn't know Coaches won Grand Slams. I always thought it was the players

Coaching has ALOT to do with it pal. Btw.. How many clay titles has Fed won since Annacone took over? A ton right??

Heck Fed has trouble even beating big slow clumsy bugger ISNER on clay in fact lost to to him. A lot of that is Annacone is not a coach really suited for success on clay.

Federer made the French Open final since Annacone took over, which is more than Sampras EVER managed under anybody. Anyway, this has nothing to do with Federer. Why bring Federer up? Insecure much?

Fact is, Sampras is incompetent on Clay for someone who is supposedly a GOAT-candidate. Actually, he's a total joke.

5 wins and 6 losses? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

And yes, it's all Annacone's fault. Maybe Annacone should have played the matches on Clay himself instead of Sampras? I'm betting the results wouldn't have looked too different considering Sampras barely made it past the 1st round, with the top seeding and all

Federer made the French Open final since Annacone took over, which is more than Sampras EVER managed under anybody. Anyway, this has nothing to do with Federer. Why bring Federer up? Insecure much?

Fact is, Sampras is incompetent on Clay for someone who is supposedly a GOAT-candidate. Actually, he's a total joke.

5 wins and 6 losses? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

And yes, it's all Annacone's fault. Maybe Annacone should have played the matches on Clay himself instead of Sampras? I'm betting the results wouldn't have looked too different considering Sampras barely made it past the 1st round, with the top seeding and all

Federer wins more matches in 2011 RG than the last 6 yrs of Pete's run at RG? interesting... i hear Pete could've beaten Nadal at the RG finals too, IF only he had made the finals.

I thought players hired and fired coaches as part of their responsibility to their own game, and future. Could be wrong on that. Sampras had the equipment to win RG, but not the temperament. Usually great S/V ers can manage some great wins over top ten clay courts in their prime years and even the odd one week clay court tittle, but two weeks is just too long for them to sustain momentum, if they get some in the first place. There is no evidence that Sampras was any different from McEnroe or Becker or Edberg. They all got some good runs in Paris, and all came up a match or two short. I do like his ground strokes for the surface though.

Prisoner of birth, indeed!! From 1990 to 1998 Sampras had the fourth best record on clay of any player in the world, won the Italian Open, and at the French had wins against Courier and Brugera, both French champions. He also had some big wins on clay in Davis Cup. To conclude from a few years at the FO that he "sure did suck on clay" while ignoring the rest of the record is bizarre.

Prisoner of birth, indeed!! From 1990 to 1998 Sampras had the fourth best record on clay of any player in the world, won the Italian Open, and at the French had wins against Courier and Brugera, both French champions. He also had some big wins on clay in Davis Cup. To conclude from a few years at the FO that he "sure did suck on clay" while ignoring the rest of the record is bizarre.

4th best record ???? really ??????

On top of my head, here's a list of players who had a better record on clay in that period :